Stark Raving Mad
by MiioMiio
Summary: AU\ \SasuNaru\ Naruto, a current resident of Konoha’s Psychiatric Institution for the Curably Insane, just wanted to get better, and get out. However, this was proving impossible as fellow resident, Sasuke Uchiha, seemed to be driving him even more insan
1. Chapter 1

_**REEEAAAADDDD-**__ OKAY EVERYONE! I COMPLETELY RE-DID this chapter. I hated the way it was before. So I'm going for a WHOLE NEW STYLE! So if you're an old, very patient reader… x3 I would like to say that I love you, and that you should re-read this. Very so._

_**A/N**__-. This came out of absolutely nowhere. Wrote it in a span of 5 hours, and pulled almost everything from my butt. So I have no idea where I'm going to take it. Umm… I've never been to a mental institution myself… so… I'm improvising. This is also going to be yaoi. Male/Male and such. I was leaning towards Gaara/Naru at first, buuuut…. I'm also kind of sort of thinking Sasu/Naru… I could really make both of them work….  
__….  
Did I mention that I have no idea what I'm doing?_

_**Disclaimer**__- I own no one! No one! And if you think I do, you deserve to be shot on spot._

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Naruto paced his room angrily. His loud, stomping footsteps echoed against the walls of his room, his face set in an expression of irritation.

_Damn that Sasuke._

He grit his teeth, and clenched his hands, continuing to pace without missing a beat.

_Damn. That. Sasuke._

He halted in mid-step, and clenched his jaw to the point of where it ached. His breathing was irregular and rigid, coming in heavy, fuming hisses. His eyes were narrowed, and his shoulders were shaking.

_DAMN. THAT. SASUKE._

From outside of room 17, belonging to the local hotheaded, obnoxious, blonde-haired boy of Konoha's Psychiatric Institution for the Curably Insane's, Naruto Uzumaki, came a resounding crash followed by an unnecessarily loud curse.

"DAMNIT!"

Hardly a minute of silent seething passed before he twisted himself around to face his door, as he heard the subtle _click_ of his door unlocking hastily from the outside.

"NARUTO, WHAT'S ON EARTH IS THE MATTER THIS TIME!?"

His door flung open, and in stormed the tall, slender figure of a rather harassed looking woman. Her face was positioned with a scowl of exasperation, and her blond hair that was usually pulled back into two very loose ponytails was loose around her shoulder and in her face, giving her an unusual disheveled look. She had dark rings under her eyes that mentioned lack of sleep, and her generally spotless nurse's uniform was wrinkled. She stood to her full height, and glared down at the blonde-haired boy standing three feet away from her. Glancing at the wall to her right, she felt her impatience grow as she realized what the crash was. The very clock that Naruto had practically had to beg for not even four days ago lay shattered against the wall.

"Naruto…." She said quietly in a dark, ominous tone.

Naruto followed her gaze hastily to the clock, and let out a growling breathe, turning away whilst moodily crossing his arms.

"It was him, Tsunade! I didn't do it this time!"

The woman, the head nurse of the whole psychiatric center, sighed while running her hand through her hair. She always seemed to get a headache when she had to deal with Naruto. Unfortunately, it happened often. The boy was loud, competitive, easily angered, and more often than not, violent. He didn't get along with the other children of the psychiatric center nearly as well as she always hoped he would. Even after countless counseling sessions solely based on the subject of reaching out and making friends, he seemed very intent on singling himself out from everyone.

It frustrated Tsunade to no end.

"What are you talking about?" She asked exasperatedly. It had been a long day, and her patience was rapidly being replaced with irritation. She certainly wasn't up to dealing with the boy's nonsense tantrum at the moment.

Naruto slightly stuck out his lower lip in a distinct look of aggravation.

"Just like I said, you hag! It wasn't me!"

The harsh glare that met him made him falter after only moments of locking determined eyes with her. His expression faded to one of unease, before glancing away altogether. Both were stubborn, both had a blistering temper, but only one had the ability to make nearly anyone recoil with a single glare.

Tsunade let out a huffy breath, planting her hands on her hips.

_That Naruto…_

"Why did you break your clock?" She asked him firmly, her gaze unwavering.

"I told you! It wasn't me!" He protested, trying to muster up the courage to look back up.

"If you're going to blame anyone, blame that idiot Sasuke!"

Tsunade raised one of her eyebrows, despite herself.

"Sasuke…? You mean that boy who doesn't talk…?"

"What other Sasuke would I be talking about!?" He asked rather loudly, looking back up with the same determined look that was usually positioned on his face, mixed with the annoyance from moments before.

"But how in the world-…?" She paused, and was suddenly struck with revelation.

"You're upset because he wouldn't speak with you?"

His silence only confirmed it, and she didn't know exactly what to say. Naruto was generally ignored in the psychiatric center. He was loud, upset the other patients, and was quite the prankster. Not exactly the type that people tended to flock to. Even though he did the things that he did for attention, all it looked to do was drive people further away. He had been told that before many times, even from Tsunade herself, but it only seemed to make him try even harder to be an insufferable loudmouth.

But even the pranks and deafening expressions that he made got their share of attention, even if for a little while. People usually stopped what they were doing to spare a glance at him, laugh, or reply. For someone to ignore him completely was something completely new to the boy in front of her, which is exactly what Sasuke did.

Sasuke had come to the center only a few weeks before. He was a silent boy, who didn't react to much of anything at all. Nobody could ever seem to get a single word out of him. But he was quiet, not timid.

For some reason, he already had a bit of an enthusiast following. It was particularly made up of females, including some of the staff, but there were some male admirers too. It didn't surprise her too much though; he was quite the looker for a boy of 15. And even if he didn't talk, actions tended to speak louder than words. Something that Naruto couldn't even begin to grasp.

That was particularly the reason that Naruto hated Sasuke from day 1. For him to be able to be so popular, even though he didn't say a word, or even express a single interest in having friends. To have that natural appeal to him that made people desire to be around him, and even look up to him. Something Naruto had always been the opposite of.

"He doesn't even glance at me, you know…"

Tsunade glanced up, shaken from her thoughts.

Naruto's hands were clenched at his sides, and he was glancing away from her look, eyes narrowed.

"I try… he… that…. I try to…. But he…" He fumbled irately over his words, fists clenching and unclenching agitatedly.

"WHAT! Does he think that he's so above me, that he can't even LOOK at me!?" He asked, clearly distressed.

"Does he get enjoyment out of watching me try to get him to glance at anything but the air in front of him!? He doesn't talk, but he acts like he's the king of the whole world! He's so damn cocky, and I can't stand it! Every time I see him, I just want to punch his face in!" He fumed, face scrunching up in dislike. "If he thinks that h-"

"Of course you know what happened the last time you tried to get violent with another patient." Tsunade cut in, loud and firm.

Naruto opened his mouth to continue his rant, but closed it right after. Getting violent meant being confined to one's room. Not particularly enjoyable. Especially if you were a child of an unnatural amount of stamina, like he himself was. Pacing could only burn so much energy, and it got boring really, really fast.

"Now look, Naruto. I don't know why you're spending so much energy on a boy who doesn't seem to have any desire whatsoever to speak… no less, speak to you. But we both know that letting it get to you will no do good for anyone. It won't make him want to speak to you anymore than before. Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he's getting to you, right?" She spared him something akin to a small smile. Despite his intolerable behavior, she really did have a soft spot for the boy. He wore his heart on his sleeve, as one might say, and she respected that to an extent.

His mood changed suddenly, going from clearly irritated, to grinning with his head held high, and his arms crossed firmly at his chest. He had quite the tendency to change moods relatively quickly.

"Get to me? HA! Like I would let someone like him get to me! It just bugged me a bit, is all! I can handle him! He's not even worth my time!" His grin never left his face, as he shifted his weight onto his other leg.

Tsunade coughed softly to hide her amusement.

"Right then." She ran her hand through her hair again, pulling most of it over her left shoulder.

"Well since you seem to have it all figured out, Naruto, I must be on my way. I have to make my rounds. But you hear me now. If you don't stop acting on this reckless attitude of yours, you are going to be in big trouble." Tsunade frowned at him, completely serious. "The last thing I want to see is you on your way back to the Fire Country Asylum." She finished quietly, but tightly.

A twinge of fear ran through Naruto, and he had to avert his eyes to stop her from seeing the sudden glaze. He tried to make it a casual turn, but he knew that she knew that it was a touchy subject. She probably saw the way his shoulders slumped in an almost defensive way, and how his arms tightened around him. Going back to the Fire Country Asylum was the last thing that he wanted to see as well…

Tsunade bit her lip regrettably, mentally scolding herself for saying anything. She inhaled a breath, and smiled, sensing the boy's discomfort.

"But besides that, just be good, or I will refuse to have your clock replaced." She said with a bit of smugness.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would."

"But! You-! I JUST got it! You can't jus-"

He watched her turn, not able to finish his sentence. She stopped in mid-step out of the door, and looked down at the watch on her wrist.

"Not that you would know, since your clock has met its untimely death, but it's dinner time. Friday night, you know."

Naruto's look of disbelief automatically turned into a massive grin as he hurried out the door after her.

_Ramen night_.

--------------

The asylum wasn't really all that bad. It was comfortable, it was bright, most of the members of the staff were generally nice, and it had a high-success rate of curing the mentally ill that weren't quite past the point of hopelessness. It was reliable.

There was a garden that the well-behaved patients were allowed to go after meals, the food wasn't bad for cafeteria food, and they weren't always locked away like diseased animals.

It really was a respectable establishment. At least, to the eyes of those who weren't patients. Whereas a lot of the patients thought it was a hellhole just because of the fact that there was a gate locking them in, there were those who were transferred from a select few asylums around the nearby regions that didn't treat their patients well; Or in some cases, humanely at all.

Naruto had come from a place like that. He didn't like to think about it, but it was hardly avoidable. The long days and nights he spent locked away, and the inadequate amount of food that was given to them. The older treatments were slowly being retired, but as the Fire Country asylum proved, they were still practiced. A lot of times they were painful, and sometimes just straight out cruel. Naruto had long ago established that they caused more mental damage than they were helping… They were thought of more as burdens on society than actual people. Because of that mindset, that was how they were treated.

Being transferred from that place, to Konoha's asylum… It was like going from mud to ramen, really. It was a wonderful change. It had a gate around it, but for the most part, they were as free as they could possibly be without being a danger to others, as well as themselves.

As nice as they were treated, Naruto couldn't wait to get out. The thought of finally being free, and no longer being looked at as psychologically unwell was almost too good to be true. For as long as he could remember, he was seeing shrinks, counselors, going through treatments, being tested for things he didn't understand… Finally, he was put in the state's mental hospital. Things only got worse from there.

Naruto rested his elbow on the table, supporting his head with his hand, desolately poking at insides of one of the three empty Styrofoam cups in front of him with a chopstick. Not even 10 minutes before they had been filled with ramen, but like every Friday night, it was gone in record time.

He squinted his eyes, tearing his stare away from the empty cup, and upwards to the serving counter. Several cups of steaming instant ramen were sitting in a row, fellow residents taking their pick. It was almost painful to watch. He was only allowed to have three cups, after the staff realized how much he was actually capable of eating. Ramen _was _his favorite food in the world, after all, and it only came once a week. He arbitrarily pondered if they would notice if he attempted to smuggle an extra bowl…

Letting out a resentful sigh, he turned away, and scanned the cafeteria. It was probably one of the least remarkable rooms in the whole building. The walls were white, the floor was tile, the tables were wooden and stained and gouged from years of children spilling stuff on it, and trying to cut into it with their eating utensils.

There were windows, though. Big windows that had a wonderful view of the somewhat busy street next to the building. The cafeteria was never really dark, and it was enjoyable to eat in, as long as he got his spot next to a window. Dark rooms, and colors in general had a tendency to depress him. For as long as he could remember, he had always dressed in bright colors. It always seemed to help him get through the little things.

He frowned, and folded his arms on the table, resting his chin on them.

They took away his orange jacket when he had first gotten into the State Institute, and had only gotten it back when he was transferred. Once he had gotten to Konoha's Institution, he got it taken away again, and it was immediately replaced with a white shirt and matching pants. He absently made a face. Plain, white, boring, cotton outfits. Every patient wore them. He didn't quite get why they weren't allowed to wear their own clothes, but at that point in time, he would have done almost anything to get his jacket back.

It's not like he was going to somehow find a way to choke on the zipper or anything…

Without it, he was just another face in the crowd. Another mental case in a nut house. Another hopeless case with no family, no future, and no jacket.

He really didn't do well with blending in. He enjoyed being noticed. He strived for the attention he never got, except when he did something completely out of line. Doing irrational things became part of his personality after a while, but it worked well enough.

What REALLY bothered him were people who could so effortlessly get what he always wanted, in practically no time at all. People like… like….

His eyes swept over the cafeteria almost all on their own, before landing on a table across the room. A table filled with several chattering girls, and a boy with sharp, serious eyes, black hair that was spiked in the back, and bangs that were currently in his face, shadowing his features.

_Sasuke._

Naruto growled inwardly, and found himself absently sinking farther down into his seat.

He knew what he had said earlier. But _dammit_, Sasuke bothered him. Since the first day he had gotten there, he had bothered him. Everything about him pissed him off every time he saw him. From the fact that he was constantly surrounded by people who adored him, to how he always had an air of authority despite the fact that he never spoke a word. He constantly gave off an ambiance of wanting to be left alone, that he was too good for life. He had to wonder why people even bothered.

He tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore it all the time, actually. Just like Tsunade always said. But his fellow resident's arrogance seemed to seep across the room to wherever Naruto was at the moment. It could have all been in his head, but that thought did not calm his inner fury at all.

Naruto felt himself twitch, his breathing coming in fairly noticeably harsher rasps. He scowled, looking away from Sasuke's table. It had been a fairly non-violent day, and he didn't want to ruin it just because of him. Not today. If he was good, he would get another ramen cup for lunch tomorrow from Iruka.

He stood up quickly, the chair flying back with a screech on the tile, and started towards the double doors leading into the main hallway, empty ramen cups completely forgotten.

He hardly realized how his steps were more like echoing stomps, and how several chairs that dared stand in his way were knocked down. His rather loud exit had most of the cafeteria's eyes on him.

He thought that he was keeping in his anger rather well.

_I'd better get extra ramen tomorrow…_

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_**A/N**__: According to this chapter, it looks like it's going to be Sasu/Naru after all. OH WHAT HAS COME OVER ME!?  
I'll write a Gaara/Naru later. : For now, I'll concentrate on this, and try not to stop halfway through._

_Review plzkthx. _


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__Okay! Chapter number twwooo, finished. X3 Hahaha! I have no idea what I'm doing…_

_THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I love you all!_

_**And remember to all of my previous readers! I changed the first chapter, therefore the whole storyline, so this one is commpplleeettteeellyyy different than it was.**_

_**I'm sorry. D But I really brainstormed, and this idea just seemed SO much better. I dig it.**_

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Naruto yawned widely, practically dragging himself down the long, carpeted hallway. It was Saturday, so most of the residents were allowed to sleep in later than on the weekdays. He unfortunately had a very unlucky timeslot to meet with his doctor.

7 A.M, Saturday morning.

For the past three months.

He rubbed tiredly at his eyes, and found himself stifling another yawn. He really wanted to go back to bed, more than anything. The morning time really was a lousy time to be awake. He figured it was okay for morning people who could function okay during the early hours, but he considered himself more nocturnal. He more often than not resembled someone of the undead if he woke up before 10.

He stretched his arms over his head, once again yawning, moisture from the intensity of the stretch pooling at the corners of his eyes.

Morning time really was awful.

He turned his half-lidded gaze to the side, glancing at his escort. He was a social worker by the name of Yamato. He was a tall man, with short black hair, and dark eyes. He was walking quietly next to him, looking quite content and happy in the silence. There was nothing really remarkable about him. He had been his escort only a few times before, but they had never really spoken to each other. It's not like he was obligated to say anything, after all. He just had to make sure that Naruto got to his appointment on time, and in one piece.

Besides, he seemed relatively comfortable with the lack of conversation. Silence always made Naruto uneasy, though. It gave him too much of an opportunity to think about things that he didn't like to reflect on.

He stretched out his arms wearily, and let out an unintentionally loud sigh. Loud was a habit. It was nothing that he expected would change in the near future.

He continued to walk, and stifle the many yawns that threatened to break loose, even when Yamato seemed to be hauled from his train of thought, and spared a glance over at him at the sound of the loud yawn. Naruto all of a sudden felt somewhat awkward, and glanced away from Yamato's curious eyes. He was usually very good with striking up conversations, but with naturally quiet people who never seemed interested, it was a little bit harder. He really didn't have anything to say at the moment, either.

He gently bit his tongue, eyes drifting to the side.

The floor was very interesting that day.

… Yeah.

_Oh look, a stain…_

Naruto squinted his eyes, and once again looked restlessly to the opposite side. His feet were still dragging, and his mind was still groggy from sleep. He really wanted to go back to bed.

After another moment of walking, they made it to the end of the long hallway, and stopped at a heavy metal door. Yamato pulled off a chain around his neck, and grabbed the key that was lazily dangling from it. Flashing Naruto a happy smile, he put the key in the lock of the heavy metal door, and gave it a sharp twist. He pulled it out, and tugged the chain back over his head, the key veiling itself underneath his shirt.

The door opened, and they walked through it, trekking down two flights of stairs. The offices where the residents met with the doctors were just one floor below where the patients resided. It was the main floor, which was pretty much where everything was held. The cafeteria, the game room, the art room, the door that led out into the gardens, the lobby… and obviously a set-apart area for the psychiatrists to work. The upstairs was just full of rooms, and the infirmary. It was only common sense that the nurses were to be nearby. Overall, it was fine. For safety measures, and probably necessary, but Naruto didn't like the feeling of being so far away from the outside world. It couldn't be avoided when living in a building with a giant gate around it, but it was better than before.

Still, he remained on the main floor, and away from his small room, and the second floor in general, as much as humanly possible.

It was another reason he had to make sure to behave. When he got in trouble, it was typical that he be confined to his room, or even one of the solitary rooms in the infirmary. He was usually pretty drugged up when that happened, but he was coherent enough to know that it was exceedingly uncomfortable. He also recalled singing out rather loudly for several long minutes, just to spite whoever might be listening. Against their will, of course. Tsunade had wasted no time after that to threaten to tranquilize him in the butt if he said a single word following that. He remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the day.

They had other treatments for the hyperactive patients, but he didn't enjoy those _at all_. He grimaced just thinking about them, feeling all of a sudden very ill at ease. His arms went from being crossed, to clutching at himself; hugging himself in a consoling way. It was another awful habit that he hated. He didn't enjoy his emotions being read so easily, but he had been told many times that he let his emotions control him. He really couldn't argue with that.

"Something wrong, Uzumaki?"

Naruto snapped his eyes up, and over at Yamato. He blinked, before hurriedly unfolding his arms, and plastering on a grin.

"It's drafty, is all!" He exclaimed, sleep still evident in his voice, but loud, none-the-less.

He wanted so badly to go back to bed.

Yamato offered him a smile as they went down the stairs, through a door, and down a couple of hallways that lead to the Doctor's wing. Naruto knew the maze well.

He linked his fingers together as they stood outside of the waiting room door, and pulled his arms high over his head, stretching with a soft humming noise.

"Have a good session, Naruto." Was all Yamato said, before he turned, walking away, and disappearing around a corner.

_Weird guy…_ Naruto thought through peering eyes, and walked inside.

The waiting room was decently big, and nicely decorated. There weren't too many unpleasant rooms in the whole asylum, now that he thought about it. The walls were a relaxing shade of blue, and the chairs were a dark type of wood, with a glossy finish. They were bolted to the floor, but it was only to be expected that some patient in the past got violent with them, and probably took joy in tossing them around. He thought that it was just silly.

He looked over at a desk covered in papers, and behind it, a lady who saw to all of the appointments. She was young, dark-haired, and pretty, but Naruto couldn't remember her name for the life of him.

The lady looked up upon him entering, and smiled cheerfully.

"Good morning, Naruto!"

Naruto flashed her a grin, and returned the greeting tiredly, continuing his trek towards the third door to the left. It was all very routine.

If this session went well, he would definitely some ramen. He seemed motivated by this thought, as his stomach gave a nasty growl of hunger.

He presumed that he had way too much blood in his ramen system. He looked distraught at the very thought….

He held out his hand to put on the doorknob, but stopped dead in his tracks when the door slowly opened before he could even touch the handle. He blinked, and subconsciously stepped back, snapping his eyes upwards. Naruto felt himself tense, eyes wide, and something stirring within is stomach. Something burning, and almost painful, creating a tight knot within just moments. They kept running into each other. He bothered Naruto. Something about him, that made him tense up every time they were in the same room.

It was that boy, Sasuke, who stepped out of the door. His posture was relaxed, his eyes half-lidded and uninterested. He had the same haughty air around him that seemed to attract the masses. He kept walking, eyes ahead, not even bothering a glance at Naruto. It was as if he wasn't even aware that he was brushing past anyone, but Naruto knew better. His breathing becoming oddly irregular.

Naruto himself was fighting a losing battle to his own burning desire to beat the arrogance out of the black-haired boy. His balled fists were clenching and unclenching in a minor convulsive manner, his breathing shallow and angry. He didn't realize he was doing it.

He was letting someone who just walked past him for no reason other than to get out of the room, get to him. Someone who had never even spoken to him before. Someone who only stared ahead the few times he had been to one to try to verbalize with _him_. They ignored each other 99 if the time. But his presence always ruined Naruto's day.

_Tackle him down, now… Claw and… Bite…. Rip his flesh off…._

It was a quiet urging in the back of his head. It was a tempting whisper, calm, and alluring.

He felt a growl build up in his throat, but swallowed it before it could emerge. He was filled with a sudden desire to listen to the second presence that never failed to urge him on in the route of violence. Really, the whole reason he was there.

_Make him suffer, Naruto…_

It was not a request.

_You should… you know we want it…_

It was getting louder.

Naruto found himself turning to stare after Sasuke against his own will, watching his retreating back. He felt his face twitch, not quite sure what emotion to express at that time. The burning knot in his stomach got hotter, and a desire from inside that was not his own, craved o spill blood. It was using his dislike against the Sasuke boy against him, and it was working. His hands contorted, resembling the claws of a cat. His eyes narrowed dangerously… He wanted to get rid of Sasuke… He wanted to tackle him down, and make him eat his irritating silence.

_After him, Naruto…_

But if he did that, and listened to the voice-…

He took a step forward, his face slowly forming into a dangerous snarl.

-… There would…

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

-There would be no ramen for lunch.

Naruto blinked, feeling at once as if he had come out of a soft trance. He felt light-headed, and the burning sensation in his stomach instantly disappeared. His face lost its scowl, and his hands loosened, falling at his sides. He straightened up and watched as Sasuke got to the other side of the long room. He walked out the door at a slow pace, most likely entirely unaware of the blonde-haired patient who debated violence towards him just moments before.

His face fell.

_That_ voice.

He heard it again.

That wasn't good.

------

That voice was the one he heard since before he could remember… It wasn't a sudden voice that randomly popped up one day, but it had always been inside of him. When he was simply a child, it was just a soft whisper that talked to him all the time. The whisper had always urged him to do violent things, and told him harsh words that a child his age could never understand. He didn't think too much about it back then, but he knew that he didn't like it.

Because of it, he had a pretty angry childhood. He had erratic tantrums, and tended to attack other children, as well as some adults, on impulse. He was rude and obnoxious, developing a habit of doing intolerable and irrational things for attention. As time went on, his mood swings got more appalling, and his actions got even more unbearable to deal with. In result, it only made people inch further and further away from him. He never had a single friend.

His upbringing was as lonely as it was angry.

As he got older, the voice grew louder, but it wasn't nearly as frequent as it had been when he was younger. He started going from family to family in foster care, his mother have had died during childbirth, and his father dying soon after he was born in a horrible accident.

Whenever he heard the voice, he always got sent back to the orphanage. He ended up doing things that the family he was with at the time couldn't handle. His negative actions became absolutely ghastly; he broke things, and attacked anything and everything he could. He became uncontrollable, and uncontainable, having an unearthly strength that wasn't his own. He was hell-bent on destroying all that he could, losing perception of all rational thoughts and motives.

And finally one day three years previous, when no one could handle it anymore, he was sent to the state asylum.

He took a deep breath, and sunk down in the overly-plush chair he was sitting in. He was Doctor Iruka's office. Iruka was his shrink, more or less. Unlike a lot of the doctor/patient relationships around the asylum, he had actually gotten rather close to Iruka during the 5 months that he had been there. He was the only doctor that he could honestly spill his guts to, and they could relate on more than one level. He really enjoyed their talks together, as long as they avoided a select few subject. He often found himself looking forward to their sessions.

Even on Saturday mornings.

When he had to wake up at an unearthly hour, just so he could have Iruka once more tell him that he was making progress, but not going anywhere.

Iruka always did manage to smuggle him ramen to make up for it though, so it was okay. The ramen was definitely the best part of Saturdays.

He was his first friend.

But sitting in front of him in the oversized, blue armchair wasn't Iruka. It was another doctor that he had only seen a few times before, wandering around the asylum. He was a tall man, with odd-shaped, light gray hair, sticking up at an strange angle. Even though his hair was gray, he was not old looking by any means. Naruto tilted his head slightly to the side. The man couldn't have been a day over 28. The man wore a standard white medical coat, a clipboard in his lap, his elbow on the arm of his chair, a pen in his hand, and his head gently resting above the raised hand. His gaze was uninterested, though a slanted, solid black headband made sure to carefully cover his left eye.

The doctor just stared at him through his visible half-lidded eye, leaning back, fingers linked together, and looking most contented.

There was a long silence.

He hadn't said a single word since he motioned for him to sit down.

Naruto felt his patience growing thin, teeth clenching in annoyance. Where was Iruka? Did he come into the wrong room by mistake? Did the presence of the voice really shake him that much? But this doctor wasn't telling him that he had entered the wrong room… and he had called him name, and motioned for him to come in. He hadn't objected to him being there…

He wasn't doing anything at all.

Naruto was fed up with being ignored.

"Well?" Naruto snapped harshly, finally fed up with the silence.

The doctor in front of him remained unfazed.

"Well, what?" He asked in a calm, even voice, not moving from his previous position.

"Who are you? Where's Doctor Iruka?" Naruto said with the same snappy tone, feeling rather confused and aggravated.

"You have a drool stain on your shoulder." His voice remained smooth, and unbothered, though his stare was now on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto looked over and down at his white uniform-clad shoulder. He hadn't bothered to change out of his sleeping clothes before he came here, since his day and night clothes looked so similar. He did drool in his sleep, so he probably did have a stain of some sort… But still, Naruto's anger level continued to increase at a steady pace.

"What does that have to do with anything!? And you still haven't answered my questions!" His voice was beginning to rise to match his irritation.

The doctor slowly sat up straight, clasping his hands together.

"I am Doctor Kakashi Hatake. You may _refer_ to me as Doctor Kakashi Hatake. You are resident Naruto Uzumaki of room 17, and you have a person hygiene problem." His gaze seemed to shift to Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, bringing his hands down harshly on the wooden arms of his chair.

"I know who I am! But why am I here with you? Where's Iruka?" He stood to his feet, looking around as if expecting Iruka to pop out of the filing cabinet.

There was another pause.

"And I am very hygienic, you asshole!" He added as an after thought.

"Calm down, Uzumaki." His voice continued to remain neutral. "Doctor Iruka went away on urgent business. He will be back in a few weeks time. But for now, I have been scheduled to take over for him." He picked up his clipboard, and for the first time, his eyes looked away from Naruto, and down to the thin stack of papers.

For a psychiatrist to leave without any notice seemed rather odd. Especially for Iruka.

"Away? Where did he go?" His irritation was still not masked, but it was mixed with a bit of worry. "He didn't even tell me he was leaving! They could have told me before he left!"

"Uzumaki, you are very loud." It was a blatant statement. Nothing Naruto didn't already know, though often times forgot. Kakashi flipped through a few of the pages in front of him, skimming over them.

Naruto sat back down heavily, gripping the arms of the chair in annoyance. He had hardly said anything, and already the doctor was grating on his nerves. It unnervingly reminded him of a certain someone he had encountered just moments before.

Not even awake for half an hour, and he had, had _more_ than enough of the day. He could only dream of going back to bed.

"As I said, it was urgent. There was no time to inform you of his leave, seeing as he only left an hour ago. But I can assure you that I am more than capable of filling in for Dr. Iruka while he is gone." He continued to skim through the papers jadedly.

Naruto sunk crossly down in his hair, fingers tapping impatiently.

"Well the clock is ticking, Kakashi." He said in a less-than respectable tone.

Kakashi didn't even bother a glance upwards.

"You may leave when I say you can leave. Any earlier, any later, there will be hell to pay." The tone was stern, but cool.

Naruto blinked. His sessions almost never lasted more than 45 minutes, depending on the circumstance…

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!? There's no way I'm staying extra long just so you can stare at me!"

Kakashi continued to look unconcerned. His lack of expression was really annoying him.

"I did not say that I would make you stay extra long." There was a rustle of pages being turned. "I said that you could go only when I said. Do not jump to such rash conclusions."

Naruto only looked away petulantly.

"Well I guess we should get started, then."

"Oh, great." His voice was dripping with sarcasm. He knew that he could control himself better, but he was in no mood to talk to this new shrink. It had only been a few minutes, but he didn't like him at all.

Kakashi regarded him quietly, shifting his position slightly.

"So it says here that you have a history of violence."

Naruto continued to impatiently tap his fingers on the arm of the chair.

"… It also says that there was a voice feeding these urges of aggression. Care to elaborate?" Kakashi's didn't sound interested whatsoever.

"I'd rather not."

Stubborn until the end.

"Fine. Then we can sit here until you 'rather would'." Kakashi didn't waste any time pulling out a book from beneath the clipboard before opening it. "I really don't mind waiting. But just so you know, we still have to get 45 minutes worth of talking in." He didn't even bother to look up again.

For some reason, Naruto knew he was serious about his statement. Just what kind of psychiatrist was he, anyway?

"Hey! Hey! That's not fair! I'm spending 45 minutes with you, and if I don't want to talk, that shouldn't not count! Besides, it's almost breakfast time!"

"Well if looks like you're going to starve if you keep this up."

He furrowed his brow, staring bewildered at the man in front of him. He was using his stubbornness against him. He growled softly in his throat, yet another habit that he had always had.

"Growling at me won't change anything."

And then there was silence.

It didn't take long before Naruto started to relentlessly fidget in his seat. He continuously switched positions, and tapped his feet on the tile floor. He picked at the scab on his right index finger, and looked around the room to look for anything that had changed. Nothing had. He was in there so often, that he had long since memorized practically every detail in the whole room. Iruka really needed to redecorate.

Kakashi was deeply absorbed in his book…

Naruto sighed exceptionally loudly, arms slung over the side of the chair, and resignedly staring at the ceiling. Nothing moved.

He sighed again, a bit louder this time.

"Is that your way of saying that you're ready to talk?"

Naruto lifted his head to look at Kakashi, who's attention was still on the book in his hand.

"Like hell it is!"

"All right, then."

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _Naruto ran his hair through his already messy blonde hair.

"Make out paradise…?" Naruto blinked in confusion, catching a glimpse of Kakashi's book.

"A very good novel. I have hardly been able to put it down since I've gotten it." Said Kakashi with something akin to admiration in his voice.

"It's smut!"

"Smut, yes, but very well-written smut."

Naruto felt his face screw up in distaste.

"Is that even allowed? I mean, if you're going to read a book instead of talk to your patient, shouldn't it be worth reading?"

Kakashi didn't even look up.

"I'm only reading because you have no interest in speaking with me, so instead of waste my time feeding your obstinate nature, I might as well do something worthwhile, such as see what happens next in this book, which is in fact very worth reading. Not like you would know. You don't even look like you can read."

Naruto sat up straight, teeth clenching.

"What is that supposed to mean, you bastard!?" The growl was still in his voice.

Kakashi looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Ah. Definitely an anger problem too. Iruka warned me about that. You're just the kind of patient I like the least."

Naruto let out a quick breath sitting up even more in his seat.

"Well if you don't like my type, then let me out, and make Iruka come back! Because I don't like your either!" He pointed an accusing finger at him.

Kakashi looked thoughtful.

"I don't think so."

----

_A/N: Exciting, huh? O:_

_It'll pick up. XD I promise. I just had to introduce Kakashi. Yeeeey._

_There a probably grammar mistakes. I'll check for them tomorrow! O:_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**__: Blah'._

…

_x) _

----

There were 360 tiles on the ceiling.

He had counted.

3 times.

Naruto was exceedingly bored, and almost tempted to just give up and talk to the psychiatrist in front of him. The obstinate streak in him was the only thing keeping him from doing so. Eventually Kakashi would have to let him go. It was almost breakfast time, after all.

He had spent the past half hour doing practically nothing, only exchanging small strings of words with Kakashi. The silence seemed almost too much for the blonde boy who couldn't sit still for the life of him. He really wanted to leave and get some breakfast. There would be no ramen… but other food was okay too.

As if on cue, his stomach gave an immense growl of hunger. He lowered himself down in his chair miserably, biting his lower lip.

"If you had only cooperated with me from the beginning, you would have been nearly done by now, and nearly ready to go eat."

Naruto shot the gray-haired man a glare, and let out an airy snort.

"Of course since you chose to drag this out and miss breakfast on your own, you won't mind if I eat, correct?"

"Why should I care what you do?"

"I guess it's in your best interest not to. But I thought it would be polite if I asked anyway."

"What do you know about being polite…?" It came out as a low mumble, not really meant to be heard. If he did hear it, he gave no indication.

Kakashi shut his book, tucking it again in his coat pocket, and stood up with a stretch. Expression hardly changing, he made his way to the door and paused before it.

"I'll be gone for just a few minutes. Don't get into trouble, and don't even bother to try to leave. The door will be locked."

And with that, he was gone with a 'click' of the door locking from the outside. Naruto wasted no time standing up, and stretching his limbs. Sitting for long periods of time was no good for him. He casually walked over to the chair that Kakashi had been sitting in moments before, and plopped down in it with his legs dangling over the side. He reached behind him on the desk, and picked up the clipboard with all of his information on it. He had always been curious about what his said…

He skimmed over the front page, which held his common information. Name, age, weight, height, birthday, reason for being there…. All of which he already knew.

With a soft noise of indolence, he flipped the page, and wrinkled his nose. It was a single white sheet of paper with _'Set the clipboard down Naruto'_ written on it in big, bold letters. Bewildered and seeing that there was nothing else to read on it, he dropped it on the floor in front of him.

What a weird shrink…

It wasn't long before there was another 'click' from the door, and Kakashi came inside balancing two trays of food on his hands. Immediately the room mercilessly filled with the aroma of toast and eggs, making him involuntarily close his eyes and sniff at the air. Naruto felt his eye twitch as his stomach gave another loud growl. He felt his stubborn ambitions wane ever so slightly.

"Out of the chair, Uzumaki."

Naruto silently heaved himself out of Kakashi's chair, and walked over to his own, eyeing the two trays in Kakashi's hands longingly. It was obvious that the second tray was his… So he would get to eat after all.

Unless Kakashi was crazier than he was.

Kakashi then proceeded to sit in his own chair, and set down the two trays on the coffee table dividing him from Naruto. He clasped his hands, and rested his chin on them, staring at the blonde in front of him with that same dull expression that never seemed to leave his face. He was observing him…

Naruto's eyes flickered from the trays sitting in front of him, to his so called 'shrink', and back to the two. His staring problem really grated on his nerves, and his patience was nearly nonexistent. He really couldn't snap though, or he knew that he would just go hungry for the rest of the morning.

"Do you just enjoy staring at me, or are you waiting for me to do a back flip?"

"… Not a back flip. Just an ordinary forward flip."

"Well sorry for you, I refuse!"

For the first time since he got there, Kakashi cracked the slightest of smiles. It wasn't an affectionate smile though… it looked more devious.

"If you plan on eating breakfast this morning, you will not refuse, and you will do what I say."

Naruto's mouth opened, obviously about to retort, but was silenced when his stomach gave another loud growl. He scowled disconsolately, and sat back down in his chair, obviously knowing when he couldn't win, although gripping the chair in his hands rather tight.

Kakashi's cunning smile turned into a pleased one.

"Wonderful. Now you answer a few questions for me truthfully and without any malice, you will be allowed to eat. I _will_ know if you are lying."

The confidence in his voice made Naruto's confidence waver, but he managed to make a face in reply to the statement.

"Let's finally begin then." He reached forward, and picked up his tray of food, placing it on his lap. "So this voice that you hear. This 'presence', if you will. You claim that is has been the reason of your arbitrary violence in the past, correct?"

"Yeah…" It sounded most dishearten.

"But you haven't heard it since you've been on your medication, and counseling sessions?"

He almost considered saying no to that, but one look at the food that Kakashi was now picking at made any pride that he had left as a man instantly disappear. He let out a sigh.

"I've heard it three times since I've gotten here, but I've already discussed them with Iruka. I don't need to go over them again with you."

"Wrong. I'm your shrink at this time, not Iruka. I need to be filled in on what is going on in your head. It's my job. Therefore, it is _your_ job to cooperate with me, and tell me what I want to know." He took a massive, distinct bite of his toast as if to prove a point. His voice was muffled, and toast-filled. "Got it?"

Naruto stared with his mouth gaping.

Kakashi was enjoying his torturing antics WAY too much. He could feel it.

"So you don't like him very much, hm?" He motioned around listlessly with his hand, still holding his toast. Naruto's eyes never left it.

"Him?" Naruto blinked.

"Uchiha."

"Uchiha…?"

"Sasuke."

"Oh." His voice went hard.

"What's you're grudge? He doesn't seem like the type to intentionally make someone mad at him, and out there, you seemed less than happy at him." He took another bite of his toast, and Naruto averted his eyes away, glowering at the floor. Kakashi continued, feigning unawareness.

"In fact, you looked _quite_ ready to pounce… All hunched over like that… hands clawed…. Is that normal behavior for you?" His voice seemed almost mocking in a way. Naruto could tell he was just trying to force information out of him again.

"He's a bastard, and I don't like him." Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Would you mind telling me why?" Still faking ignorance. Naruto got the impression that Kakashi saw right through him. Of course, that could have been his natural strategy. The way he got answers from the majority of his patients.

"Yes, I would, because it's none of your business what goes on in my personal life."

"How about for a piece of toast?"

There was hardly a pause.

"He doesn't talk, he doesn't look at me when I'm talking, and he has weird hair."

_Well there goes my dignity._

"… And that's it?"

"You asked, and I told you! Don't complain, you've already reduced me to a beggar, who's now well on his way to growing an ulcer from starvation!"

"…. Naruto Uzumaki, you are a pathetic soul."

_Okay. __**NOW**__ my dignity it gone._

"Just give me my toast, you perverted shrink!"

------

The rest of his session had been long, drawn out, and boring. By the time he had gotten to eat all of his food, it had long since gone cold. By the time he got out of his session, it had been two and a half hours. He had long since concluded that he really hated Kakashi.

He was not looking forward to that Tuesday. Another session. He felt his nose scrunch up as he made his way to the door leading to the garden. The patients that proved that they were capable enough to go limited amounts of time without constant supervision were allowed to wander the halls, though a lot of areas were gated and locked off. Naruto wasn't exactly the best behaved patient, but they knew that keeping him locked up all day was the worst thing for him. Besides, he had been doing better…

He took a step out into the dew-matted garden, and took a deep breath of air. It was still fairly early, so there were only a select few people out at the time. It suited Naruto just fine.

It was a fairly large area; flowers and shrubs furnished the perimeter, while there were trees and bushes scattered throughout. He smiled softly, making his way towards an out-of-the-way tree to his left. There was an old swing attached to it that he had gotten rather fond of. He enjoyed sitting there, and watching… just watching. It was a good way to get away, since no one ever bothered him.

He liked being outside, where it was bright, and fresh, and much less suffocating than being indoors. It was nice to get away from the smell of sterile appliances and sheets, overpowering doses of drugs, and the deafening screams that erupted without warning from select rooms on his floor. It was almost escaping reality altogether, sometimes. It was definitely what he needed at the moment. He was beginning to feel sick.

Naruto stopped in front of his tree, and blinked. A girl he had seen around quite a bit before, Hinata, was sitting in the swing. A small girl around his age, timid, tendency to stutter, short dark hair, white nervous eyes… She automatically looked up, mouth and eyes opening in surprise. She rapidly and gracelessly shot up, almost tripping in the process, voice shaky beyond reason.

"N-N-Naruto! I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming, I-I would h-have gotten up s-sooner, b-but- I-I'm sorry, I'll j-just…" She looked truly distressed, as she turned around, her face flushing.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"There's no need to be weird about it Hinata, it's okay."

Hinata almost fell over from the statement.

"It's not like you committed a crime or anything. If you want to sit on the swing, go ahead." He ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully.

"Y-Yes, but… I always s-see you o-on it, and I just…" she bit her lip, slowly turning her head around to look at him.

He grinned reassuringly. "Really it's okay! Go ahead and sit back down! I was just coming out to waste time until lunch, but I can go find something else to do. I guess the craft room might be open, so I'll just-"

"No!" She seemed surprised by her own boldness, and winced, uneasily setting her right index finger horizontally against her bottom lip. "N-no… I have to go inside and take my medicine anyway… I-It was nice seeing you N-Naruto." She hurriedly walked away, and disappeared into the building.

"Strange girl…" He shrugged, and sat on the swing, wrapping an arm around the thick string holding it up. The whole asylum was filled to the brim with loonies. Everyone had a problem. They were all trying to get out… He knew that a lot of them would never get out. A lot of them would be trapped in a world of drugs and therapy for life. He felt sorry for them, because he wasn't one of them. He had vowed long ago to get better and get out as soon as humanly possible, and nothing was going to stop that.

He was making process, but not enough… He had heard it again… he was about to attack someone again for something so small. That someone was someone he hated, but it wouldn't have been worth it if Kakashi hadn't snapped him out of it. He would have probably attacked, gotten sedated, and thrown into a solitary room, no closer to getting any better. It had happened enough for him to know the routine.

Weird things always happened after the attacks. Instead of taking a step forward, he always seemed to take two steps back.

He really wanted to talk to Iruka about it. He would understand, and help him through it. No one else could…

He dreaded going back inside, a tight knot keeping an iron hold inside his stomach making him feel ill.

He slumped against the side of the swing, and looked solemnly across the garden where two patients were talking quietly together under a tree. Sitting on the single step coming down from the building sat a male nurse he didn't know, making sure that everything was safe as they were out there.

He had the sliding feeling that it wasn't going to be a good day…

----

Three hours later, while in a craft class for his general age group, Naruto felt completely awful. His head was pounding, and he was sure that he was going to throw up. His vision was dizzy, and he felt himself trembling softly all over. He rested his cheek against the cool surface of the desk he was sitting at, and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm the spinning.

The talking in the background seemed distant, but the little noises like crayons tapping and scraping on paper seemed to echo through his head. He winced, wrapping his arms around himself, feeling cold all of a sudden. He didn't want to go to Tsunade unless he absolutely had to. He didn't want any more medication than he already had.

He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and lifted his head heavily, glancing back.

"Naruto, are you feeling alright?"

It was Kurenai, a therapist, part-time nurse when necessary, and the volenteer teacher of the craft classes. She was pretty and kind, with long black hair, kind red eyes, and dark red lipstick, though she looked genuinely worried. She gently pulled her hand off of Naruto's shoulder, shifting her long white doctor coat.

Naruto blinked slowly, the florecent lights overhead seeming brighter than they were before, and the room still spinning.

"M'fine…" His voice sounded slurred and unconvincing even to himself

Kurenai dropped down on her knees next to him, putting the back of her hand to his cheek, brow furrowed.

"You have a fever…" She stood up, and brushed herself off. "I'll go get Tsunade… Class, sit tight while I go out of the room for a moment! Neji, watch over things while I'm gone."

Everything seemed hazy, and he closed his eyes again as he got hit with a wave of dizziness. Nothing seemed to be making sense in his mind, and he couldn't string together words properly. He wanted to lay down… He opened his eyes back up, prepared to do just that on the floor next to him, but he shot up out of his chair with a loud cry of distress, falling backwards with a gasp. He landed hard, but blindly started to force himself backwards into another desk, eyes wide and terrified.

It was everywhere.

There was blood on his paper, on the desk, on the floor and walls, on the other people. It was _everywhere_.

It hadn't been there before! Naruto bit his lip sharply, unfocused eyes darting from side to side. It was going to be him next. It was everyone's blood. And it was his next… His…

incoherant thoughts continued to flood his mind, as he covered his eyes with his arms, teeth clenched, and the aroma of blood filling everything. He was defintely going to throw up.

He felt paniced as he felt more pairs of hands on him, and wanted to lash out and get them away, but they held him tight, and he felt sore all over. He began to tremble harder, as his arms were gently removed from his eyes, though he kept them stubbornly closed. He could smell it, why would he want to see it? It was all over him. It was staining his clothes, and it was overpowering. His breathing was becoming erratic and panicked as he thought about it.

His head hurt horribly… He didn't want to be awake. He took in a gasp of air, trying to push himself farther back into the desk.

"Naruto, open your eyes.

It was another distant voice…

"Naruto. Come on, you have to tell me what's wrong…"

He slit his eyes carefully open, and recognized the form in front of him as Neji Hyuga… a volunteer, because his dad worked there… He was carefully holding Naruto still until Tsunade got there, making sure he didn't hurt himself, obviously. He frowned, and put his hand to Naruto's forehead. Naruto flinched away from the touch.

There was more blood. All over his hand…

He took in a sharp gasp of air.

"Dn't'… you see it…?" His voice was still slurred as he tried to focus his eyes on Neji's hand. Neji looked bewildered, also shifting his stare to his hand.

"Uzumaki, there's nothing there… You're just seeing things." He set his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down…"

But he had no intention of calming down at all. It was there! He could feel it, see it, and smell it! Why couldn't…

He doubled over, feeling nauseated. He had to get out of there.

His trembling became violent, and he had to bury his head in his hands to keep from fainting on spot. Everything was getting more and more distant, and the only thing keeping him upright was Neji's hold on him.

He was causing quite a scene…

----

**A/N:** _I could really go for a TWIX bar right now. And yeah, maybe some sleep. XD Anyway, I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with this story. I guess I should take time to plan it out, and stuff, yeah? XD Thank you all for being patient with me._

_Leave your reviews, comments, and whatever you desire. : As long as it's not just flat-out mean.  
Anyway, time for work! I shall proof-read and modify latar_!


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__ Nothing like a bowl of mint chip ice-cream, on a nice spring day. X3 Inspiration is floooooding through me._

_Enjoy All!_  
----

Sasuke watched the scene take place before him, his face propped up with his hands. Uzumaki was having another fit. He let out a soft breath of amusement, and went back to the doodles he was sketching with a black crayon.

That Uzumaki kid really was an idiot. He almost tried _too_ hard sometimes, and it really did give him sick amusement to watch him squirm.

But that was all the kid was to him. Someone who secretly amused him when he was feeling particularly dire, like an outlet. He would never let it show, but messing with him was one of the ways he kept himself sensible. He had only been there for a short amount of time, but they seemed to gravitate to each other in a sense. When he really thought about it, it struck him as odd, really, but he could tell how desperately Naruto wanted his acknowledgement. He wasn't sure if Uzumaki knew it himself, but it was more than obvious to Sasuke.

And Sasuke… well, he enjoyed the feeling of being in control on one's feelings. The feeling of having the ability to make him livid, almost on command. A certain power over the blonde that no one else had. He knew he got to Naruto by simply not talking.

The fact that he could just sit there, and know the blonde was getting enraged by such a simple antic was implausible.

Just thinking about the other ways he could manipulate and distress Naruto made him in inwardly grin.

It didn't seem like much, but it filled him with a twisted kind of pleasure.

When he had gotten out of his therapy session with Kakashi and passed by Naruto, he didn't even have to look at it him to know that even his presence pissed him off. At the time, he had to force down a smirk that threatened to show. He would never show that it amused him like it did…

He continued to absent-mindedly sketch out random doodles, eyes occasionally wandering to the scene that was taking place a few desks up and to his left… Naruto was yelling about something now, Neji trying to calm him down. As far as he could tell, it made absolutely no sense. He almost felt bad for Neji, for having to deal with the idiocy.

He would continue to give the blonde no acknowledgement. Not out of spite _exactly_, but he figured it would be best. The moment he noticed him glancing at him, Naruto would feel deceitfully accomplished, and have the same feeling that Sasuke did when he watched Naruto struggle for his recognition. He wasn't about to share that.

He looked down at his paper. He needed paint.

Sasuke slowly got up from his chair, leisurely making his way towards the supply shelf, trying to ignore his surroundings. He put his hands in the pockets of his white cotton asylum pants, having to pass past Naruto and Neji who were still on the floor. He deliberately took no notice of them.

Paint…

He rummaged through the shelf, looking for the canisters of paints, hearing a couple of people walk into the room behind him. He didn't bother to turn around to see.

People were very loud.

He picked out the jars of red and black paint, took a paintbrush, and turned around to make his way back to his seat.

Tsunade had now taken Neji's place on the floor, holding Naturo's head between her hands, making him look at her. Sasuke exhaled sharply in decadent amusement. There was always a scene. He started to walk back to his seat, unfazed. No need to pry into business that wasn't his own. It was just another subconscious cry of attention by the ever-loud Naruto. It would pass, and nothing would change. Things like this happened all the time.

There was a retching noise, and Sasuke stopped before a pool of blood on the floor, right in front of Naruto. He let his gaze fall.

Naruto looked scared, gripping at his throat, eyes glazed and anxious, blood dribbling from his mouth. Tsunade wasted no time pulling him up, and hauling him out of the room with the help of a fellow nurse.

Sasuke unflinchingly stepped over the pool of blood on the floor, and walked back to his seat. He hardly noticed as the mentally unstable students in the room, obviously disturbed by the scene that just took place, went into a state of alarm. The room was soon filled with screams of horror, and panicked patients ran out of the room as if running for their lives. Kurenai shot orders, and tried her best to restrain the students that she could. Shelves and desks were knocked over, and supplies littered the floor.

Sasuke chose not to notice any of it.

His picture needed more red…

----

Every single time he had heard, and tried to ignore the voice in the past, he had gotten violently sick.

Every single time.

It was as if the violent voice was scolding him for going against its will.

The one behind the voice didn't get to see spilt blood, so it made Naruto see it.

Someone was carrying him, but he didn't DARE open his eyes to see what it was. Nothing seemed to make sense at the moment. The whole asylum had warped around him. There was blood, slaughtered corpses, and bloodied weapons everywhere he looked. There was someone in his bed, there were black and blue people hanging from the ceiling, the people he saw everyday were all hurt. Most of them should have been dead…

There was Sasuke crawling towards him in a most mangled form, as he sat on the floor in front of Tsunade. He didn't like him, but he didn't want to see him with knives and hooks lodged into him exactly. That really did it for him. He added more blood to the room. Vomiting blood was something Tsunade was worrying about. But Naruto didn't understand why. Shouldn't she be tending to the hole in her head? He could see parts of her skull.

He groaned, and let his head loll to the side. His head hurt, and he wanted to go outside. The florescent lighting was making everything so much worse.

"He's completely delirious…"

He could hear it echoing loudly through his mind, making him cringe. He heard it, but hardly understood it.

_Look at what you did, boy… _He could hear the laughing voice again. It wasn't coming from the adults around him. He tried to bring his hands to his ears to block it out, but he couldn't move…

He felt entirely helpless, and he hated it.

_You hurt them all. This is the world you have to live in from now on. Until you learn to do what I say, you will pay the consequences. _It sounded pleased. He was happy that he was hurting…

There was no way he was going to allow it that kind of pleasure.

He took a deep breath, and forced his eyes partially open. The lights were blinding, and nothing had changed. The world was twisted and morbid, and it was all its fault. He wanted it to stop, but didn't close his eyes. He would fight it as much as he could.

He swallowed down the possible threat of throwing up again, and blinked slowly to try to clear his blurry vision, as well as his head.

"Why… is there… blood evr'where…?" Soft and garbled, but the man carrying him seemed to understand what he was. He tried to listen, and ignore the blood that was declining down the man's face from his eyes. Immediately Tsunade was in his line of vision. At least it kind of resembled her.

"Naruto, sweetheart, there is no blood anywhere… Just stay calm, and don't talk. You'll feel better soon."

But she was wrong. There _was_ blood, and it was _everywhere_.

"I cn' walk… put me down… I'mmokay…"

"Don't be silly, child. Just rest-"

"I hrd' him again…"

There was silence.

"H's m… mad… Dsn't like whn' I… ignore him…""

There were another few moments of silence.

"Shizune, you watch him for a few minutes. I'll go get Kakashi."

Naruto closed his eyes again, not having the will to keep them open any longer. Not Kakashi. ANYONE but Kakashi.

More than anything, he just wanted Iruka to come back.

----

After a few short hours, he found himself lying quietly in a hospital bed in the medical wing. The last he remembered, he had been strapped to the bed. It didn't feel like it anymore, though. He moved his arm experimentally, sighing in relief when he successfully lifted it off the bed.

Someone must have come in and took the straps off of him when he wasn't paying attention. The task was very possible in his self-confirmed, VERY drugged-up state.

He felt a groan escape in his throat, trying to force open his eyes.

He felt very tired…

Things didn't look so bad anymore. The blood had all but disappeared, and whenever he looked at someone, they looked like they always did.

He was very thankful for that.

He remembered Kakashi trying to talk to him, and seeing the dark form of a deformed figure coming up behind Kakashi's chair. He had screamed. At least he wanted to. He probably had, because the next thing he knew, Tsunade was poking him with a needle. After a few more minutes, he had immediately fallen into a calm state, feeling every muscle in his body relax. He remembered not being able to speak, or think very well too…

At the moment, he was probably experience the after effects. He felt very much less than coherent.

Kakashi had talked to him a little bit after that, asking him some questions that he couldn't recall, and trying to get him to tell him what he had freaked out about.

After that, he said something about a brilliant idea he had, before smiling at him, and walking out of the room. It didn't settle well with Naruto's stomach, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. He had more important things to worry about.

He was currently glad to be alone, and wanted desperately to go to sleep, but decided that recalling the events of the day would be more worthwhile. The longer it went on, the blurrier his memories got, and he _had_ to remember everything.

He was jerked from his train of thought as he heard the door to the infirmary open.

"Naruto, are you feeling any better?" Tsunade's voice sounded from the chair next to his bed.

Naruto could only groan softly in response, and look dazedly at her. She only smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes. You look a lot better."

She hesitated.

"… So, it was… _that_ again, hm?" She tried to keep her tone casual, and light, not wanting to set Naruto off in any way. "It really has been a while since that's happened… It's much less frequent than it used to be. You're starting to get better." She smiled, although forcedly.

Naruto frowned, and looked away from her. He was getting better for a while, but then he fell back by a landslide. He was still too dangerous… he was never going to get out of that place…

"But you're going to have to work hard, Naruto… You can't take your place in the real world, if you continue to be so unpredictable. We can't… -I can't bear the thought of you being released, only having to come back to us. You can't attack people for absolutely no reason. Even petty reasons. The real world doesn't work that way…"

Naruto couldn't help the feeling of sadness that passed through him. He had hurt someone.

"Who did I hurt this time…?"

Tsunade hesitated again, clearing her throat softly.

"That boy you don't like… Sasuke Uchiha. In passing, you attacked him…"

Naruto felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"But I don't remember! I would have never done that on purpo-" He felt a hand on his cheek, and bit down on his tongue.

"Calm down, child… I know you don't. You had fallen unconscious before you did it… I don't believe that it was the you I know."

"But then how di-"

"This is what we're trying to figure out… You're not a normal case, Naruto. No matter what medication or treatment we give you, you show slow signs of recovering, before you go back to where you started. I want you to get better… And I'm not going to give up on you." It seemed like she was trying to convince herself, more than Naruto.

"There seems to be an unspoken resentment against you and Sasuke… something that you would even go so far as to act subconsciously on. Kakashi and I have decided to start therapy including both you, and Sasuke."

Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth in complaint, she held up her hand.

"This is for the best Naruto, and you will go through with it. If you want to get better, you have to face things that you aren't going to want to face. But will it not be worth it in the end?"

"I-…" He paused, still biting thoughtfully at his tongue. "Are you sure it will make me better…?"

"There's no way of knowing until we try."

"And our counselor HAS to be Kakashi?"

Tsunade let out a soft laugh.

"Despite how it seems, he is a wonderful therapist, and probably the best for you at this point in time."

"But I hate him."

"Well apparently so does Sasuke. So you'll be on equal ground already."

"Dammit…"

----

Group therapy. Group therapy with Sasuke. _and_ Kakashi.

He _hated_ today.

Naruto sat huffily in his chair, his arms crossed stubbornly, looking anywhere but the silent black-haired boy in the chair next to him.

Kakashi was late, and he was stuck in an awkward silence with the person he least wanted to be with at that moment. Being in the same building as him was enough, but being in the same room? Alone?

_The perfect time to strike, hmmm?_

He clenched his teeth and shoved the thought from his mind, instead filling his head with thoughts of dinner that night. It was Monday, so it had to be some sort of meat… Maybe cheeseburgers.

Cheeseburgers sounded good.

He turned his head as he heard the boy next to him shift his position, and let out a sigh. Naruto blinked. It was the first noise that he had ever heard out of him before…

"What are you sighing about?" He asked curtly, suddenly forgetting the fact that he had been trying to ignore him just an instant before.

There was no reply. Figures.

"He's late…" He said mainly to himself, fidgeting slightly. He hated to sit still for longer than necessary.

Still no reply from the black-haired boy.

Naruto sat up in his chair, as, as if on cue, Kakashi walked through the door, expression loosely apologetic.

"Sorry, sorry. Took a wrong turn from the cafeteria. Plus I had to help Kurenai with some paperwork."

Naruto snorted. "Stop making excuses! And-… IS THAT MY JACKET!?" He jumped out of his seat, pointing accusingly at Kakashi, who was indeed wearing the bright orange jacket that he had first worn to the asylum. It had been taken away from him, as well as all of his other possessions, locked away in a closet. It was his favorite thing in the world…

It was a tight fit on Kakashi, but he seemed comfortable.

"What? This old thing? Why yes, yes it is."

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING IT!? YOU'RE TAINTING IT!"

"Oh, it already smells tainted enough. If it's lucky, some of my wondrous cleansing abilities will rub off on it, and make it smell like it only hasn't been washed in 5 years, as opposed to 20."

"Give it back!" Naruto meaningfully ran for it, but was stopped by Kakashi putting a forceful hand to his forehead, rendering him to a halt.

"All in due time, Uzumaki."

---

_**A/N:**__ I think that I need a beta reader. I'm too lazy to go back and fix the mistakes by myself. D Oh the hoooorrrooorrrr._

_Anyway. X3 YAY! NEW CHAPTER! Hope you enjoyed and stuff!  
:'D  
Please leave a review if you have the time! I would be most grateful!_


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